Serena Williams charged into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday with an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.
The second seeded American, bidding for a seventh title at Melbourne Park, served up a storm, clubbing 15 aces and 35 winners in the 86-minute contest under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
Williams blew two match points in an uncharacteristic lapse but closed it out on the third with a searing forehand down the line that Safarova did well to get a racket to.
Williams next faces compatriot Nicole Gibbs for a place in the fourth round.
Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin stunned second seed and World No 2 Novak Djkoovic to move into the 3rd round of the Australian Open.
Wildcard entrant Istomin matched Djokovic shot for shot to win 7-6(8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in a 4-and-a-half-hour contest at the Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
It was six-time-champion Djokovic's earliest elimination from MelbournePark since his first round exit in 2006.
Radwanska dumped out in Rnd 2
Third seed and former semi-finalist Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out of the second round of the Australian Open by Croatia's Mirjana Lucic-Baroni on Thursday, becoming the highest seed to fall in the women's draw at MelbournePark.
The world number 79 Lucic-Baroni left Radwanska and the Margaret Court Arena crowd stunned with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of the Pole in the late afternoon match.
Former Wimbledon finalist Radwanska, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park last year and in 2014, managed only eight winners to her opponent's 33 and slumped to her earliest exit at the year's first grand slam since her first round elimination in 2009.
Lucic-Baroni next faces Frenchwoman Alize Cornet or Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Konta to face Wozniacki next
Johanna Konta set up a mouth-watering third-round clash against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open today, with both players looking in fine touch.
The British ninth seed, who made the semi-finals last year to kickstart a breakthrough season, doused the threat from promising 19-year-old Japanese Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
Dane Wozniacki followed her on court and dismantled Croatia's Donna Vekic 6-1, 6-3 in a clinical show.
Raonic out-muscles Muller
Third seed Milos Raonic continued his machine-like advance through the Australian Open on Thursday, easing past Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the third round.
The big-serving Canadian, a semi-finalist at MelbournePark last year, was clinical on a sun-bathed Margaret Court Arena, firing 21 aces and breaking the serve-volleyer from Luxembourg once in each of the first two sets.
Left-hander Muller, who celebrated his maiden ATP title in Sydney earlier this month in his 17th year as a professional, saved a match point in the decisive tiebreak but fired a forehand into the tramlines to bow out.
Raonic will next play French 25th seed Gilles Simon for a place in the fourth round.
Ferrer rallies to advance
Another seed, Spain’s David Ferrer fought back from a set down to defeat 20-year-old Ernesto Escobedo 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to round 3.
Dimitrov battles past Chung
In another match that went similarly, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov took out Korea's Hyeon Chung 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Karolina Pliskova gave Russian teenager Anna Blinkova a massive wakeup call to the realities of grand slam tennis with a 6-0, 6-2 Australian Open second round romp in just 59 minutes on Thursday.
The 18-year-old Blinkova ensured she did not suffer the dreaded 'double bagel' 6-0 6-0 scoreline in the fifth game of the second set when she held serve, with the crowd in Margaret Court Arena giving her a warm round of sympathetic applause.
Blinkova, who came through qualifying and upset Romania's Monia Niculescu in the first round, broke into a huge grin and raised her left arm in mock triumph to salute the recognition.
The big-serving Pliskova, however, who was equally as dismissive of Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory, wrapped up the win over the grand slam debutant with her ninth ace.